Ellie Holmes is a commercial women's novelist, expert juggler and occasional lion tamer because that to do list never gets any shorter, does it?!

Loyalty

As some of you will be aware we recently had an election in the UK. We didn’t need it but due to political expediency on behalf of Theresa May and the Conservative Party we got it anyway. Oh how I bet they wish they had given that a bit more thought. Prideful and arrogant they assumed not only that they would win but that they would win BIG. Pride comes before a fall and that was certainly the case here.

I am not normally given to commenting on political matters and don’t worry it will not be a regular feature but one thing struck me about the almost Shakespearean drama unfolding before our eyes: the inevitability that Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy would be expected to take the fall for their boss’s misfortunes.

For those of you who do not know, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy were two of Theresa May’s closest advisers. They have jumped before they could be pushed in order to hold on to a little bit of self esteem but their demise was writ large as soon as the night’s results were in. It was only ever a question of when.

There is very little loyalty in life but in politics there appears to be none at all. Riding high one day and thrown under the campaign bus the next. It is a ruthless arena to work in. Snake pits would be easier to negotiate although comparing politicians to snakes is probably unfair to snakes. I am tempted to say Hill and Timothy are best off out of it but I doubt they see it that way.

It seems to me that loyalty ‘a strong feeling of support and allegiance’ is an undervalued concept in today’s society. We would all expect and hope that in the face of adversity loyalty would be shown to us but do we show it to others when the crunch comes? Loyalty, particularly at our own expense, seems to be a disappearing trait.

The trend towards identifying once an individual is in trouble and then moving in for the kill – sharks circling in bloody water seems to be gaining in prevalence. ‘I never liked them anyway’ says someone before putting the metaphorical boot in. Ganging up to put down someone who is suddenly perceived as weaker is unedifying for all who take part. Perhaps we fear being associated with someone who is done down in case it rubs off on us or maybe we strive to be associated with the many in that instance because we hope when it is our turn the gang will not turn on us. They will.

When next you have the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone whom others are deserting put yourself in their shoes and extend the hand of friendship, instead of the one wielding the knife. Next time it could be you.